


a ripple in the cosmos

by ellipsesarefun



Series: a ripple in the cosmos [1]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Ambiguous Relationships, At this point in time Keitor is still at the enemy-acquaintances stage, Cliffhangers, Developing Relationships, Enemies to Acquaintances, M/M, Minor Violence, Other, Travelling to a Different Universe
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-08
Updated: 2018-07-20
Packaged: 2019-06-07 06:19:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,191
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15213032
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ellipsesarefun/pseuds/ellipsesarefun
Summary: Right as the paladins escape the Galra Empire territory, Haggar's dark magic corrupted their wormhole, thus, separating the paladins into unknown places of the universe. Keith, however, has landed himself in an alternative reality, far different from his, and has to find a way to fix his Lion and a way back to his original reality.





	1. i.

**Author's Note:**

> First chap is up I guess? Enjoy.. 
> 
> Also many thanks to @ranchelle for this lovely keitor art <3 (praise keitor hehe)

He watches in amazement as his Lion produced his own canon and fired straight to where Zarkon is standing. The Galra Emperor casually deflects the beam with his sword, and the beam lands on one of their control system ships. Again, Keith takes flight, firing the beam on the platform of the main ship as Zarkon quickly dodges the firing line.

 

"You fight like a Galra soldier." Zarkon says. Keith searches for an opening but Zarkon's a step ahead, flying past him as his bayard shifts into a giant axe, screaming, "But not for long!"

Zarkon swings down his bayard, striking the back of the Red Lion with great force. Keith's flinches, feeling the impact, as his Lion freefalls back to the platform of the central command ship. The panel on his Lion's screen disappears and the lights are out. He maneuvers the controls but his Lion isn't moving. Zarkon's bayard shifts his form back into larger sword once more. He barely waits for another two ticks before flying down with increasing velocity, his sword pointing towards the Red Lion. 

"Come on!Come on!!!" Keith pleads with his Lion as he continues to struggle with the controls but no response was garnered. Still in constant acceleration, Zarkon persists downwards, his sword now cracking with lightning. Keith waits, still pleading and struggling, until suddenly- 

A flash of light hits Zarkon and the Black Lion appears again, zooming down to where the Red Lion had crashed.

"I got you buddy!" Shiro's voice, strong with assurance, came from the communication link as the Black Lion grasps the Red Lion into its hold and flies out from the main central command ship.

It was a losing battle but they've finally rescued Allura and all their Lions are secure in the castle. They need to retreat. They all wait as Allura conjures a wormhole. Several ticks passed and then nothing happened. It was the barrier, Coran explains, that kept them from leaving. A miracle came through, however, when the Galra barrier dissolves. 

"What just happened?" Pidge asks.

"Who cares! Wormhole!" Hunk says.

 

A wormhole finally materializes and they make their escape. A jolt shivers through his body and a knot in his gut settles, heavy with foreboding. The wormhole welcomed the castle into its unknown abode yet the knot in his gut tightens, as though a warning for a imminent catastrophe. Keith leans towards his Lion's vision screen, aghast at the ominous red surrounding the castle.  

"Coran, what's happening?" Shiro calls from their communication link and Keith hears the slight white noise projecting in their speakers. It was barely there as of the moment, but there's an unsettling premonition about it.

"The integrity of the wormhole is being compromised. It's breaking down!" Whatever gibberish the mustached man was spouting, it doesn't sound good.The knot in his gut clenches even more. Keith looks at their faces through the screen of his Lion but there doesn't seem to be some sort of answer.

"What does that mean?" Lance asks, as though they're in class and they're not in their own impending doom. The white noise from earlier grows louder.

"It means we have no control to where we're headed!" Coran screams as the white noise deafens them. Some part of Keith knows that this might be important to know, but the other whole is too drained from the battle against Zarkon and his fleet. He shots up and his first impulse is to alert everyone to form Voltron but there's a lump in his throat that he can't swallow and his lips are clamped shut. Everyone else are dithered, too wrapped at the precipice of theunfathomable devastation.  

There was a thud somewhere and in an instant they were all propelled to separate directions, aimless and boundless, reeling them away from each other and into the unknown vapid nonexistence. All these occurrences happening all at once is overwhelming yet merely a microscopic dent on the universe.  

Keith desperately cries out to them, hoping for a sign that they'll respond, but their communication link severed from the growing distance and the dense thrall of the wormhole. A flash of light blinds him as the universe he once was familiar of breaches itself, collapsing into nothingness.  

The pool of vapidness fades into another flash of blinding light. It draws his eyelids to a close, still feeling the burn from the light. He could feel another jolt and a growl from his Red Lion, warning him of the destination he is thrust into at the moment. Suddenly, there came an insurmountable force, tethering him and his Lion towards that bright light at unfathomable speed. The force pushed him back to his seat, his body unable to move from the force.

Unwilling to yield, he fights against the immense pull, stretching an arm toward the controls. His arm awkward hovers inches, but the pull has become more unbearably great that he lets his arm fall back down the chair. It was futile to battle against the ethereal cosmos. The pit in his stomach clenches as the bright light fades into a void. From behind his eyelids is another episode of total darkness.

 

Wherever this light--wormhole or not--is taking him, he hopes they'll survive on the other side.  

Allura, Coran, Pidge, Lance, Hunk, Shiro... Everyone.. The whole universe depends on him... depends on them... on Voltron... 

 

Once again the universe collapses. In a fraction of a millisecond,he somewhat loses himself, as though his whole body and consciousness disintegrates into nothing more than particles of cosmic dust left astray in this vast celestial space. At this moment, everything is.. complete nonexistence... 

And then suddenly, a whir of air swallows his lungs. Keith gasps, opening his eyes to the darkness from his Lion's inactivity and the glittered dots of astronomical systems from his Lion's vision window. Not a bad situation, supposes. They've survived the worst, after all. 

"Hey, you still with me, Red?" Keith calls out. 

His Lion is quiet and not a single thrum of a response was uttered when Keith maneuvered the controls. His communication link is blank of white noise and they're out in the middle of nowhere. He breathes out a deep sigh and laxes back on his chair. 

Might as well wait for his Lion to recharge. 

 

He did not have to wait that long, however, when a familiar-looking ship flew in front of his field view. Immediately, his shoulders tense and his hand rests on the handle of his bayard.  

Its shape seemed triangular as a whole, painted in hues of purple. It might be another Galran ship, he supposes. The size of the ship might as well hold at least one person aboard but it's possible to have another accomplice or two, depending on their body mass and composition. He pauses his train of thought and he traces down to his bayard. His other hand flies to the other side, feeling the edges of his other blade on his undersuit. His Lion is down for now, but there's no point on dwelling it not when there's an enemy ship right in front of him.

He was about to stand up from his seat when someone called out through the communication link.

"Hello. Is there anyone aboard?" His eyes widen at the familiar voice. Either he was imagining things or that sounded like Pidge. He'd know that drawl from anywhere. 

"Pidge, is that you?" Keith asks, a sense of hope budding through his chest for awhile and then it plummets down when the Pidge-like voice responds with:

"Who's Pidge?" The voice asked, sounding annoyed and dubious, "Who is this?" He can't just let it go. He doesn't like to hope but... Maybe it's the wrong name. Maybe...

"Katie?" He tries, "Katie Holt?"

 

There was a small pause in the line. He hears someone cursing (it's probably her), and then, "No, this isn't Katie Holt... I'm pretty sure you have the wrong person. Who is this?"  

He sighs, his hope already died out, "Keith. Keith Kogane." 

"Never heard of you before." She says and he sets himself back down on the seat in defeat, "Are you alright over there? Any injuries?" 

"A few bruises here and there, I guess, but other than that, I'm alright." He says, omitting the fact that he and the other paladins had recently fought with Zarkon in order to save one of the remaining survivors of Altea. 

A tick after his response and his Lion finally roars back to life. The lights and the controls all switch back online and as well as his video communication link. He taps the screen to view the caller of the other end and to his dubious astonishment, it was none other than-

"Pidge?" It looked like her.. but different. The brown hair that was once shaped in an odd cut now flowed until her waist in a side braid. A dark red violet suite hung her petite stature; a stark contrast to the green paladin armor he'd known her as. His gaze lands upwards to her scrunched eyebrows and distinctive frown.  

"I am not Pidge." She repeats, narrowing those sharp amber eyes and holding her arms over her chest. He sighs. This can't be happening, can it? She must've lost her memories... and the time he'd been stuck in the wormhole could've been dragged on for who knows how long...

 

"I'm sorry." Keith says. His voice was almost a whisper but it must've caught her attention when her face laxes into contemplation (and pity), "You just look a lot like her..."  

Dark amber irises rest on him for a moment before a sigh escapes her lips. "Is she important you?" She asks, her voice now lowered, as though she didn't mind letting a mere stranger witness her own vulnerability. 

"Yea." He does the same, biting his lips, "She's one of my friends... She and well, the whole team had to a fight a fleet of--" he holds his tongue from the word 'Galra' before continuing, "enemy fighter ships in order to rescue our other friend.We managed to retreat immediately using this wormhole machinery but someone tampered it and we separated..." She considers for a moment to reply but another person called out from behind.

"Katie, what's going on out there? Anything amiss?" The Pidge lookalike winces with widened eyes, quickly shifting her gaze from Keith to the person behind. Keith feels his jaw loosen when the person who had called her was Galran. Thelush pillow white hair that sunk until the waist seems unusual but the person possesses the typical Galra skin and is wearing the armor he had observed from the Galra ships. 

"Katie?" Keith echoes the name again, drawing both their attentions towards him. "Katie" visibly flinches once more, with the face of a thief that had been caught red handed. The Galra frowns.

"Greetings." The stranger introduces, bowing slightly, "My name is Emperor Lotor of the Galra Empire. Is there anything we can do to help?" 

 

"Emperor?" Keith repeats, voice high-pitched with trepidation and turbulence, "That can't be! Zarkon is the Emperor of the Galra Empire. He'd been conquering planets for ten thousand years!" The two shared a look once more, one that blatantly screams their disbelief in his insanity. Keith shakes his head and grows impatiently.

" _Zarkon? Ten thousand year war?_ " He emphasizes. Tense silence fills the space before the Galran speaks. 

"If you meant by Zarkon the Tyrant, he did conquer and purged several planets of differing star quadrants." The Galran spoke as a matter of fact, "But he was defeated by none other than Empress Allura the Gallant three thousand years ago." Keith's face shook with dread as the explanation drills into his head. 

"Allura the Gallant formed her own organization of freedom fighters to end the six thousand year tyranny and since then, peace has reigned for three thousand years." Lotor says, expression full of worry. 

"And counting." Katie pipes in. Keith falls his back to his seat as all of the information gradually sinks in. It's not possible that he's traveled to the future, is it? 

"What year is it right now?" He asks.

"The year of 206X." Keith lowers his head, gaze far off in his storm of thoughts. It's still the same year they found the Blue Lion. The same year they found Altea and Allura and Coran in their sleeping pods. The same year they all decided to search their Lions in order to battle against Zarkon's Galra Empire. The same year they barely escaped the Central Command Center after rescuing Allura.

"You could come with us." Lotor suggests, offering what comes across as a barely-there smile as though to appease Keith's distress, "We are on our way to Altea after all."

"It is Empress Allura the Second's nameday after all." Katie adds, throwing a grin wider than her companion's.  

Keith considers the two for a moment, shifting his gaze between their seemingly friendly expressions. He could wait for another ship to come around, but the likelihood of welcoming passengers such as them isn't dependable... Keith has no clue of his own whereabouts, and time is running out.. He needs to go back as quickly as possible... There's a war to prepare and the whole universe is counting on Voltron...

 

He puffs out a breath of air and sits up from his seat, holding his bayard. Might as well. 

"Is there any way you could fix my Lion?"


	2. ii.

"So it all started when this other me found coordinates that encrypted a message called Voltron?" Katie asks as she tinkers with a glowing cube on her hands. It's Olkarian technology, she specified in passing a few hours ago, and she's adding her own modifications to her own benefit. The reason behind it was left in omission, and she merely answered with that Pidge-like grin of hers. Even a different reality doesn't seem to change Pidge's enthusiasm on science and technology. 

"Yes." Keith says. He hands over a beverage of strange pink-violet hues. She relieves it from his grasp and takes a sip with her free hand. She stops with a satisfied sigh and settles the bottle down before tinkering again. 

"And then we--well, you--rescued a guy named Shiro?" Form the corner of his eyes, Emperor Lotor is maneuvering the ship with professional ease. Keith frowns, looking away.

"Yes."

"Then all of you found a Blue Lion by the desert, ditched class because of the said Blue Lion that led you to Altea, awakened Princess Allura and Coran, and then decided to fight against Zarkon and the Galran Empire due to the dangerous possibility of him conquering planet Earth?" Katie actually stops what she's doing to point an arched eyebrow at him. 

"Yes." Keith repeats, hopefully she doesn't ask anything else. The one-worded answer seemed to satisfy her and she immediately resumes her work as if his face didn't interrupt her at all. He notes the little scars along the back of her hand. Got them from several hazardous laboratory experiments, she told him once. He wonders if the Pidge he knew had scars like that but then again.. they weren't close enough for him to know that.

A few ticks after, Lotor arrives with a basket. Having such a towering Emperor holding a tiny woven object full of space food made Lotor seem like some weird version of Red Riding Hood. Keith averts his gaze once more, adamant in ignoring the Galran. From behind, he hears the wrinkling of wrappers as Katie takes a space sandwich from an outstretched hand somewhere form his side. 

A small part of him expects that he'd leave them to the ship's controls when the Galran settles across him and Katie. His heart rate shoots up and quells the knot in his stomach at the close presence. It's only been less than a day and Keith hasn't adjusted to this reality. He doesn't think he should be. This is a temporary delay to the inevitable. But as the seconds drift away, the more far away the war against Zarkon seems.

"How are you feeling, Keith?" Lotor asks. Keith only glances at him. He doesn't know what he looks like but he hopes it portrays every ounce of his irritation and desperation in his face and looks away. There was a disquiet in the silence and the background noise of Katie's tinkering. Keith sighs and indulges the companion by facing him again.

"Is there a training room?" Keith deflects the question with his own instead. Lotor frowns, blinking. The open expression on his face wavers.

"Yes. It's at the end of the hall." Lotor says. Immediately, Keith is already making his way to the door.

"I could accompany you, if you'd like?" Lotor offers when he exits the room. Keith merely pauses his pace to reply with a short 'no' before leaving. From outside, he still hears a sigh.

"He doesn't seem to like me very much." Lotor complain echoes through the hallway. Keith wishes there was some other noise that wasn't from Katie's lab. 

"Well, judging from what he'd been through, he still thinks you're the enemy." Katie says, and Keith hears a smile on her voice, "Give him some time."  _Give him some time, my ass._ That was the last he's heard from them after the door of the training room closes.

He statues by the wall and his eyelids fall shut. The silence stretches on as the thoughts mingle together in his head. The images rewind to when he had faced Zarkon, sensing the tremors spreading across his body at the power the Emperor held against him. Even riding with his Lion, Zarkon still had the upper hand. Had it not been for Shiro's rescue, Keith would have lost. Completely. 

Sighing, he draws out his bayard and starts without a training bot to guide him.

\--keitor--keitor--keitor--

_He wakes to a bell ringing through his eardrums. His eyes only catch darkness as he turns his head from side to side. His pulse suddenly hammers against his chest as a cloud manifests itself at a distance. Keith tries to placate his thudding heart with pacing breaths but it's a rising tsunami and he can't control the waves._

_An evil laugh echoes throughout the boundless blackness while the cloud solidifies into Zarkon. Keith tries to stand but finds his limbs as numb as a doll's._

_"I will come and find you." A sword appears on Zarkon's hand. The evil laugh multiplies in a thousand voices as Zarkon begins to approach him. Keith thrashes around himself, begging his body to move, move, move! Nothing seems to be working. The voices warp like switching radio stations into screams for help. He jolts at the uncanny familiarity of the voices--Shiro, Pidge, Allura, Lance, Hunk, Coran..._

_He turns to the side, dread thundering in tremors at the dilapidating form of Voltron. All faith for the whole universe plummets into abyssal despair as he watches the symbol of peace crash and burn into flames. The figure warps itself, shifting from Zarkon menacing physicality to one of a striking resemblance to a witch with eyes of lightning yello and a face concealed behind the shadows of their hood. The cries deafens his ears, embracing him into his own terror, as Zarkon's blade swings down over and then disappears. The image before him now presents itself into the witch and electric waves of her magic shower him into own dea-_

Keith gasps; eyes wide open at the still blackness. For a moment his mind alerts itself for Zarkon's presence. He stretches out to where he thought his bayard was when his hand accidentally lands on a switch. Keith is washed with relief when brightness floods the room. Pressing a palm to his chest, he lets the storm quiet into relaxation.

He sits up and slips a hand under his pillow. Feeling the hilt of his dagger, he takes it out and examines it. The edges of the blade still retains its sharpness from his continuous assaying. He unfurls a line of cloth that covers along the middle and his gaze lingers on the bizarre symbol embedded on the center of the middle. He strokes it with his thumb, a continuous comfort from his own nightmares.

His eyes dart around and blinks to a stop at the incandescent lavender lines vertically drawn along the door. The Castle of Lions is usually painted in white and bright blue lines. He surveys his surroundings again. The walls are drabbed in monotone purple and the light above radiates like the lines on the door.

He throws himself off the bed and saunters to the door in cautious steps. Keith presses an ear to the door, picking up a whirring noise. Must be from the space ship. His hand slides along the surface, feeling the smooth metal texture beneath his palm. It chances upon something lighter and the door beeps, sliding open to an empty hallway. A torrent flow of the recent events tear through his mind.

Right. Zarkon happened. And then the "wormhole" brought him here. Where Katie and Lotor found him...

He slaps his cheeks and shakes his head. He needs a distraction. A walk around the vicinity might be good. Keith takes his own advice as he ambles through the hallway. He scrutinizes the walls once more, their luminous lavender-violet color stains away the familiarity of the blue-white background. He doesn't know where he's going, having not been able to tour around the ship since he arrived here. The listless walking, however, has a calming effect after everything he's experienced.

He idly turns to the right,  where another hall stretches on. This time, he sees another light with shadows of figures emanating from an open door. Keith brakes to a stop when he hears the voices of the shipmembers coming from the room. He leans on the wall and crouches to his side. Under the lavender light lies Katie and Lotor hovering over a table full of stones.

"Is everything in place?" Katie asks, examining one of them with that cube machine she had been tinkering with earlier.

"Yes." Lotor points to an unseen phrase on a parcel of his hand, "According to the passage here, they should all be arranged into a hexagon." One by one, the two start arranging the stones. Keith watches on as the pieces assemble. The marks on the rocks being to glow in icy blue. It leaves Keith in awe but a frown on Lotor's face.

Katie turns to him with a question in her expression. Lotor, either unaware or purposefully ignorant, continues to scroll through the parcel again. Keith's eyes roam along the glowing marks. A wave of familiarity clicks in his brain. He hasn't exactly seen replicas of them before,but the way they were written on the stone seem Altean… 

"We're missing one more piece." Lotor realizes. Katie frowns. She crosses to the other side of the table where a floating laptop is set up and fires her fingers across the keyboard. The light of the computer screen reflects the embers of determination dancing in her eyes.

"Do you think my mother went ahead of me?" The shadows splay across the emperor's worrying face. The small whispering voice displays a certain vulnerability that maybe only Katie (and Keith) has ever seen.

"I can only hope not." Katie says. She doesn't turn around but her loaded look is amplified by the furrowed eyebrows and the tense shoulders. She hasn't stopped her furious typing.

"Have you contacted Allura yet?" Keith perks up at the name. Does the Allura in this timeline know whatever the hell they're doing?  Lotor shakes his head and looks down. Keith can't gauge his expression when overlayed  by the shadows.

"I haven't divulged everything..." Lotor answers, voice still in a whisper, "Just the bit where my father died and I'm to take over the throne..."

"Why not?" Katie asks. She pauses her actions to turn around. There's a tilt of the head towards her but Lotor seems set on keeping his gaze lowered.

"You know how the alliance is of utmost importance to the people, most of all to the Empress.." Lotor pauses, lost in his train of thought. Katie still has her hands hovered over the keyboard, only now they were trembling slightly.

"If she finds out what really happened..." Lotor trails off.

"Yea." She finishes for him. Lotor looks up then and a wordless dialogue is exchanged between the two. Keith debates for a moment whether to make his presence known but as soon Lotor's eyes stray from Katie's to his direction, Keith  makes a break for it.

He unlatches himself from the wall and brisk walks as quietly as possible to the hall where he left off before any of them catch a glimpse of his spying. He becomes lost in the purple maze but he manages to arrive at the door of his room. 

Keith quickly opens the portal and slips back into his space, his mind boggling with questions he dares to ask but isn't sure of the consequences that may occur.  Just what the fuck is going on? What alliance were they referring to? And Lotor's recent ascension to the throne? Had there been a usurpation occuring? Were those two involved? Just how much shit have they been hiding?

How long is he going to stay here before Zarkon reaches the Paladins with Voltron out of the picture?

\--keitor--keitor--keitor--

"We're here." Keith looks at Katie from his door. She flashes him a mega-watt grin and skips down the hallway with her bag. Keith stands towards the desk where his bag lay  and checks for his things. He brought little with him since the incident, and he only had one extra pair of shirt and pants, along with his bayard and his dagger. He stares.

"Hey Keith!" Katie hollers from outside, "Come on! Let's hurry so we won't miss anything before Allura's formal party starts!" From what he remembers from their earlier dilly dallying, the party won't start until the sixth of evening.

"Only bring the essentials!" Lotor adds, "There will be an endless supply of sustenance throughout the night so you won't have to worry!" Grumbling, Keith looks down on his back once more and decides to leave when he's thoroughly checked his belongings for the third time. He doesn't want to leave anything behind in case their ship gets stolen. Already learnt his lesson from when Rolo and his accomplice did the same thing with the Blue Lion.

As he walks down the stairs from the ship, an overlay of the castle and the land overwhelms him like a punch on the face. The first time Keith had set foot on Altea was when they all decided to ditch class and hop on a wild adventure because a Blue Lion said so. That was the beginning of how he, Shiro, Pidge, Lance, and Hunk become the hope for all planets who had their freedom robbed by Zarkon and his Galran Empire.

The Altea he has been familiar with was desolate, barren of any sign of Altean civilization, save for the white castle that was as large as a city and a different alien species that arrived and made a home of their own. 

This is nothing like the Altea he knows, however. This one is thriving. The ground thrums with varieties of flora. It teems the grass and layered with flowering plants of vibrant hues that Hunk would probably know how to classify. He notices circular shadows covering the pasture. Keith looks up, astonished at the scenery above.

Buildings float as still as sculptures above the surrounding area while flying vehicles zoom and buzz about like insects.  They all vary in size and shape, all glossed in white with marks blazing in blue. The base of each property is round with similar glowing blue lines etched around its circumference. As he traipses down the stairs, Keith catches a glimpse of what seems to be metal lines interconnected with the buildings, with an overall display seemingly resembling to a giant web. The top of the castle looms at a distance.

As he reaches the bottom of the stairs, his gaze lands on his Lion resting by the side of the Galra ship. Keith approaches with worry and smooths a hand over his Lion's steel paw. 

"Hang in there, buddy." He whispers, cuddling the hard steel with his forehead, "We'll find a way back to Shiro and the others one way or another." His Lion purrs, soothing the tense muscles of Keith's body. Even at times like this, his Lion's purr is still one of the greatest comforts.

"Keith!" He hears Katie call him again and he turns to her waving her arms vigorously, "Time to go!!!" And she gestures to the direction of what looks like an elevator. Keith pets his Lion one last time before rejoining the others. Once inside, he notices two palace guards with them but he doesn't comment on it.

"You are definitely gonna love this place!" Katie wraps both her arms around him and Lotor, squishing her cheeks in between them, "The technology here is far advanced than the ones on Earth I visit here sometimes. For inspiration." Uncomfortable, Keith shuffles out of Katie's grip.

"Is today like this time?" He asks, dubiously gazing at the drastic change of their expressions. Katie's bright smile switches into a tight one while Lotor keeps his gaze straight ahead.

"Something like that." She says, and he notes a slight rise of pitch on one of her words. The atmosphere in the elevator becomes strained and he feels he's flirting the line between secrets. This isn't his universe and there isn't much to go on from there other than a possible argument that might result to more conflict. He glances at the guards.

"Right." He relents, expecting a diversion from the topic at hand. Katie reverts back to that oblivious smile and resumes her rambling. Lotor pipes in every now and then when he seems to know something of the topic but it doesn't matter. Keith is otherwise preoccupied by the mysteries that surround him and his growing distance from the main mission at hand.

Lotor and Katie seem close enough for them to bypass any sort of regulations for the formal party. Keith supposes that having close connections to both rules, Katie strikes him as someone who might have been either an ambassador for these two or an endorsement for the sorts of technology and sciences department. Whatever their "quest" is, it must be something conspiratorial... Otherwise they wouldn't have to arrive at an earlier time than everyone else...

He's only been here for a short amount of time but... It doesn't sit well with him that they're pulling this shit behind everyone's back. Being in the same space as them will only pressure him to incorporate himself into the situation more than he already isn't.

The elevator stops without a stutter and the metal white doors slide open to reveal a bridge that runs toward the Castle. Keith looks on in awe. It's unbelievable how the castle looks devastatingly similar to the Castle of the Lions. If there are any key differences, Keith can't tell. The Altean colors make it too difficult to perceive anything.

Lotor turns to the guard with a polite smile and says, "We'll take it from here."

"Of course, Your Highness." The guards give their obeisance and march back to the elevator. Katie and Lotor walk straight ahead as Keith follows behind.

They stop a few meters ahead where they were met with a few Alteans crowding a line of small round vesicles. The first one in line is situated afloat on a sort of tram line glowing in blue. When the onlookers turn to their direction, they immediately part a path for them. They all heartily give their salutations. All are received with well-meaning greetings from Lotor and jubilant grins from Katie. Keith avoids any sort of interaction, hiding behind Lotor's tall and built frame as they enter through the small vesicle.

"You can stop worrying now." Lotor assures him as the vesicle door closes against the strangers. Realizing he had been leaning on to the Emperor for too long, Keith flushes and moves away. The first (second) time he actually interacts with someone and he embarrasses himself. Great.

He doesn't get that far, though, as he bumps against Katie's shoulder. And he's in the middle. Wonderful.

A giggle escapes Katie's lips. She pokes him with her elbow and shoots a sly grin to which he responds with his dispassionate look. She bawls into laughter and Lotor--oh, god, joins in. Keith groans.

"Oh Keith," Katie says, slinging an arm around his shoulders, "Relax. Altea is one of the most peaceful planets out there. Trust us." His lips curve downward, disbelieving, and shrugs, pulling his expression into a neutral one. He doesn't trust them. Not really. They gave him no reason to.

After what seems to be a minute, the vesicle finally comes to a smooth stop. Not even a stutter, Keith notices again. They exit and make their way to the castle gates. A sharp cry echoes from afar and suddenly Katie and Lotor were ambushed by a hug. Keith takes two steps back, cautious at the arrival of another stranger. It only took a few seconds for Keith to realize who was under Katie and Lotor's arms.

Under that mass of beautiful white curls, the stranger looks up, revealing a tear-streaked face with twinkling crystal blue eyes marred in furrowed eyebrows and a worried frown. He'd know those white curls and blue eyes from anywhere but it's just...

 

 

"It's good to see you again, Allura."

 

No. Fucking. Way.

 

 

"Oh Lotor.. Katie... I'm so sorry." The Allura lookalike buried her face into their arms once more. Keith remains in his place, baffled at the scene before him. Everything else seems surreal. He knows he's in a different realm but to witness another one of his friends in a different role right in front of his eyes grounds him to this one even more.

"It's not your fault, Allura." Lotor whispers against her soft white curls, "Mother was... She wasn't..." He trailed off, a single tear running down his cheek. Keith can hear Katie's sniffles muffled by their embrace. She is the first to let go. Keith watches, concerned, as she fingers her tears to dry. 

"We also have a guest..." Katie motions a hand to Keith. Reluctantly, the two rulers release each other from their grasp and they all turn to Keith. All bore tear-stained cheeks and worried wrinkles on their foreheads, crumbling in bereavement. It's like looking at a matched set, Keith thinks.

"Uh. Hi. I'm Keith." He greets them with a stiff hand. The awkwardness surrounds them like a house on fire. Making his presence known at this point in time doesn't seem to be a good idea, Keith supposes. But he needs to go home as soon as possible. Even if he has to bear with this odd and mysterious situation.  

The Empress slips out a handkerchief from her gown and loudly blows her nose. Keith feels his skin tremble at the noise. This strangely brings a smile on Katie's face. Lotor, on the other hand, has kept his face blank but even from here Keith swears there's a crinkle under his bright violet eyes and just a hint of a curve on his lips. Damn them.

"Greetings, Keith. My name is Empress Allura II. You can call me Allura." A smile trembles slowly on her lips. She approaches him with a stretched hand. Keith doesn't know what to do with himself so he bows, albeit stiffly, before taking her hand. Behind Allura, he hears chuckles. 

"Ok. Allura it is." They both share reluctant smiles. He isn't sure how she asks, but he feels his body relax at the similar openness Allura holds. 

He doesn't dwell on the feeling for long, however, when Allura shifts her attention towards an someone nearing their space. Keith leans to the side, his gaze landing on another Altean. He pauses, assessing that lanky figure, wide forehead, and that distinguishable frown. Judging cerulean eyes pierced his like a thousand rockets and the frown on the Altean's face deepened. Had it not been the white hair and the Altean marks, the person would've resembled a lot like Lance. 

"And who is this grump?" The Lance lookalike places a hip on his waist. He considers Keith for a moment with narrowed eyes, "And what is with that garb on his head?" That sounded awfully like Lance, all right. 

"And what is that godawful forehead of yours?" Keith retorts back. The Altean careens his head backwards with an loud and ostentatious gasp. 

"Excuse me but I'll have you know that this awful thing you call my forehead has been refined by constant application of one of the best moisturizing agents in Altea!" He says, the deep frown making its appearance once again in full force with those glaring eyes. Somehow, his comportment draws another amused snicker from Katie. 

"Keith, this is one of my council advisers, Theaz." Allura introduces them, sparkling eyes darting between him, as though awfully unaware how much petty malice is pouring out of Theaz.

"Ignore him." Katie chimes in to Keith, "He's always like this." Theaz slants his gaze at her and she smirks, unaffected, as though this has been their routinely interaction. Lotor merely lets out a sigh and a shake of a head. Suddenly, Keith feels like he's back at the Castle of Lions, watching Pidge and Hunk bait Lance to his irritation. 

"Anyways," Allura's voice breaks him from his stupor, "what brings your here Keith?" His mindless blithering stops and he recounts  his tale that happened over the last two quintants. Everyone is silent, either their minds elsewhere or listening in. Allura's ebullient and open expression darkens by the time Keith finishes his tale. Lotor and Katie seemed adamant to spill their clandestine activities right then and there but their jaws are as tense as the rest of their body,  Keith notes.

"Take me to your Lion." Allura says. Keith nods and starts to turn to the vesicle but stops when a hand lands on his shoulder.

"You don't need to pass through there." A playful smile quirks on her lips and she takes out a small object. Allura presses a thumb on a button atthe center and it blinks once in icy blue. 

Nothing unusual takes place until three driver-less flying vehicles ride towards them. They remind him of his own motorbike back home but smaller and emblazoned with Altean colors. Allura hops onto one of the motorbikes, gesturing them with a tilt of her head. 

"Go on." She encourages, "Try one of those." At this, Theaz quickly rushes towards Allura's motorbike but squawks at the sight of Katie cosying herself behind the empress, planting hands on her waist.

"Hey! I was there first." Theaz whines. Amusement placates the tension in the air as Katie shrugs with the face of nonchalant innocence. 

"Oops. Sorry." She says, flat and deadpanned, "Too late, doofus. You're gonna have to ride somewhere else." With that and a tongue stuck out in petulance, the motorbike lifts off, sloping down to where his Lion is. Theaz turns to Keith and Lotor and makes a gagging noise. 

"No way am I saddling up with either of you!" For a moment there, Keith almost forgets that Theaz is addressing not only him, but an actual Emperor. Theaz takes the other motorbike and follows behind, leaving Keith with an emperor who seems keen on talking to him for some unknown reason (and a reason he wants to remain unknown). 

Lotor is already on the driver's seat with a hand stretched out to him. Keith walks over, ignores the offer, and hoists himself up on the passenger seat; all in the span of wordless awkward quiet. He sets his hands on the sides of the motorbike, away from Lotor's waist. Keith keeps his sights straight ahead, ignoring the awful palpable atmosphere prickling at his skin. 

The engine roars to life and they're already flying below the floating city. When the arrive at the bottom of the Galra ship, he gets out. Keith cleanses himself from the image of the emperor's broad shoulders and cloud white hair flowing from a high ponytail like heaven's waterfall 

Allura is standing by his Lion with closed eyes and glowing hands on his paw. She had that posture Princess Allura had whenever she was activating the teleduv. It looked as though she is actually seeing quintessence. The blue essence radiating beneath her palms spreads throughout her body, as though she is bending the energy to her will.

She could do with however she wanted this quintessence to be, at least within the laws governed by some cosmic entity. Keith briefly wonders just how much power Princess Allura encompasses had she continued her studies on Alchemical knowledge..

 

A growl emanates from his Lion quells his thoughts. The blue light fades as Allura releases her palms from the surface. Keith feels his cheeks tighten from his elation. He rushes over to his Lion, nuzzling his nose to his Lion's arm. Gratitude overtaking his features, he turns to ALlura. 

"I healed the Lion's injuries. Nothing but some essence of Altean energy to restore your Lion to full health." She explains, "It must be quite a feat for you and your Lion to actually survive it all. It's quite admirable." He doesn't know if he should comment on that. 

"Thank you." Keith says instead, and he feels his heart beating with his words. She nods.  

"You're most welcome, Keith." She says. Another unreadable emotion passes her features as she ambles towards him. Allura stops, blue eyes darken with concern. Theaz stands behind, quietly assessing the scene. His hand is on the hilt of his sword, alternately tensing and relaxing. 

"I believe you have.. more questions." She says, slowly phrasing her words. They're treading a sensitive topic here, if Lotor and Katie's faux indifference is anything to go by. A shadow adorns Theaz's face, probably dubious and wary with a newcomer invited without question. 

"Yes." Keith persists, back straight and jaw taut. She stares at him, considering, casting a side glance at the other two (which is not subtle at all) and then back at Keith again. He's not sure what he's face looks like but she smiles, as though amused by his own determination. 

"Well, shall we head to the castle?" Her smile changes this time, like there's a challenge for him hidden beneath those cordial words. He shoots his own smirk in acceptance and points a knowing glance at the other two. 

"I'd like to." 

 

Any grain of knowledge is important if he's going to return to his original universe, even if the possibility of shining a light on Lotor and Katie's secret might throw him into a deeper hole conflict.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Honestly, I want to pursue a third chapter, but I don't think it'll live up to what I've done for both chapters... So far, I haven't been satisfied with my writing and so I decided to come up with a sequel for this little thing here so I can fix things around with my original idea.. I hope no one's too angry at me for this and I hope people understand..
> 
> If there's anyone who has a fresh idea on Altean alchemy or knows how to play around the sci-fi aspects of Voltron that I can actually consult to, that would be helpful.


End file.
